Holddown.



H. M. HART.

. HOLDDOWN.

'APPLICATION FILED IUNE 9. 1913.

Patented May 11, 1915.

- //\/l/E/\/7U/ WT/VESSES M 4 &@ @M-Z W HARRY M. HART, OF ST. LOUIS,MISSOURI, ASSIGNOB TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATER-SON, NEWJERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

HOLDDOWN.

Application filed .Tune 9, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY M. HART, a citizen of the United States,residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented certainImprovements in Holddowns, of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likereference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in theseveral figures.

This invention relates to lasting machines and particularly to a new andimproved hold-down finger and mounting therefor. In order to meetcertain well understood commercial'conditions, among which the demandfor shoes with flexible soles is important as is also the need to usecheap materials due to the advancing price of leather, it has become thepractice to use for innersoles certain comparatively thin and flexiblestock which has been found sufiiciently durable to give satisfaction inmoderate priced shoes if the shoes are properly lasted and sewn. Inorder to secure the proper lasting of the shoe it is necessary toprevent the thin and flexible innersoles from crumpling at the channeland allowing the feather to be pushed back out of alinement with theedge of the last bottom. There is also danger of the channel lip or ribbeing crushed inwardly and distorted during the lasting operation by thepressure of the stiff and bulky materials composing the toe tip againstthe rib. This danger is particularly great upon the outer side of thetoe portion of the shoe. If the shape of the rib has been retained bythe use of a suitable support at its inner side, which also shouldprevent buckling of the innersole at the channel, it is possible for theWelter to sew a firm narrow inseam at the proper distance inwardly fromthe edge of the last around the toe of the shoe to the advantage of theappearance and durability of the shoe. l/Vhile it has been proposed toprovide a plate having an edge face which would fit against the rearface of the rib and support the same during the lasting operation, ithas been found expensive to provide a separate plate for each style ofshoe being manufactured, as becomes necessary if the rib is to beadequately supported by this means.

An object of the present invention is to provide a holddown fingerhaving a toe plate which will readily and automatically adapt itself tovarious shapes of toes, in-

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 11, 1915.

Serial No. 772,628.

eluding both rights and lefts and will afford the necessary support forthe innersole rib about the toe portion of the shoe and particularlyalong what is the outer side of the toe of the shoe as worn.

A11 important feature of the invention is found in a novel constructionof a multiparthold-down plate which is adaptable to different shapes oftoes and which preferably, by the act of bringing it into operativeposition upon the shoe and against the rear face of the innersole rib,is caused automatically to assume the proper shape required by thecontour of the rib of the particular toe being treated. In theconstruction herein shownby way of illustration as embodying thisinvention the hold-down plate is composed of lateral parts which aremovable independently longitudinally of the shoe, the said parts beingso connected to their supporting finger that they may also moveindependently of each other about vertical pivots which permit angularmovement of the plates in the plane of the last bottom.

As a further feature of the invention, the mounting of the platescomprises mechanism whereby the plates, after they have automaticallyassumed an approximate abutting relation to the lip of the innersole,are caused, by further forward pressure of the plates against the rib,to separate and adapt themselves to the particular toe or applyadditional pressure along the sides of the toe. The connection betweenthe parts of the plate and their supporting finger preferably compriseslinks which are pivoted respectively to the said parts and at a commonpoint upon the finger. The links therefore form a toggle which may bearranged with the angle between the links directed rearwardly or towardthe heel of the shoe so that pressure of the links against the lip whenapplied through the support will cause the toggle to straighten andeffect a lateral movement of the mid portion of the parts constitutingthe hold-down plate. Preferably and as shown in the selected embodimentof the invention, the connection of the hold-down plate to itssupporting finger comprises a universal joint which enables the plate toassume an even bearing against the face of the innersole whatever may beits inclination to the horizontal. Taking the lasts as they come in ashoe factory, there is considerable variation in the spring of the last;that is, in the lengthwise inclithe ball of the shoe and at the sametime to.

bring the hold-down plate into firm engagement with the insole at thetoe. In the illustrated construction the hold-down finger is formed asan integral forward extension from the shoe clamping member that is toengage the shoe over the ball of the last and the hub of this clampingmember, which with the finger and plate constitute the holddown foot,connects the foot to the carrier which is arranged to extendtransversely across't he shoe bottom. To permit adjust ment of thehold-down foot to the spring of the last, the hub of the clamping memberis pivoted to the hold-down carrier for movement about a horizontal axisextending transversely of the shoe. Furthermore, to retain the fingerandits plate against an gular displacement upwardly relatively to itscarrier, ratchet means is provided between the foot and the carrierwhich prevents movement of the hold-down plate upwardly away from theshoe but permits movement thereof toward the shoe in case the spring ofthe last renders suchmovement necessary. The ratchet means may bereleased for adjustment of the arm in a contrary direction.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a holddown embodying this invention asapplied to a bed lasting machine; Fig.2 is an enlarged perspective viewof the hold-down showing more clearly the relation of the hold-downplate to the rib or lip of the insole; Figs. 3 and-t are plan viewsillustrating different adaptations of the hold-down plate; Fig. 5 is adetail of the construction connecting the hold-down plate to itssupport; Fig. 6 is a view of a feature of the inventionapplied to anarrow holdrdown finger..

The hold-clown supporting and operating means is substantially thatshown and described in British Patent No. 19,512/11 and comprises a post2 carrying. a block t in which is mounted for sliding adjustmenttransversely of the shoe a carrier arm 6. The block can turn and thecarrier swing about the longitudinal axis of the post 2 to bring thecarrier 6 into and out of operative position over the shoe. The forwardend of the carrier 6 is formed as a stud or bearing 8 to engage anopening in a supporting arm or finger 10, thefinger being. held upon thestud by a suitable nut 12 and washer as shown. Beneath the bearing 8,the finger 10 is formed with a toothed or roughened work engaging face14 which rests against It is therefore the ball portion of theinner-sole when the finger is in operative position and, as a clampingmember, holds the forepart of the shoe rigidly against the toe rest 16located beneath the shoe.

The forward end of the supporting finger 10 is downturned and formed asa ball 18, Fig. 5, which engages a socket 20 formed in a connectingmember 22 having a flange 24:. The ball is held in place by a retainingcap 26 threaded upon the member 22'. Links-28 and 30 arehalvedtogetherand pivoted by a screw stud 32 uponthe under face of the flange2e againstwhich they may bear and against which they may be clamped, ifdesired, by the screw stud 32-so that they may form, operatively,a partof the connector 22. To the free endsof the links 28 and 30 are pivotedat 3%, 36, Fig. 2, the segmental parts 38, 400M116 holdsdown plate. The

par-ts of the plate when considered together,

as best shown in Fig. 4, present an ovaloutline-which is preferablyegg-shaped, one end of the plate having a greater curvature than theother. Fromthis figure it will be seen that the more pointed end of theplatesisadapted to fit behind the rib of pointed-teed shoes, and thatbyreversing the plate upon the ball 18 the opposite or more rounded end ofthe plate may be used for a somewhat broader toe. links 28 and 30 are sopositioned that pressure of the finger 10 toward the toe tends to holdthe parts of the plate together instead of forcing them apart, as occurswhen the links are positioned as in Fig. 3. The arrangement of the linksshown in Fig. 4C is particularly adapted for use with narrow toes whereit is desired to afford a very firm support for the rib at the extremepoint of the toe. Referring again to Fig. 3 itwill be noted that thisform of plate, when brought. into contact with the rib at the toeportionof a shoe by swinging the carrier 6 about the post'2, willautomatically swing about the ball 18 and .the pivots 32, 3st, 36 andassmne a bearing relation with the rib at the toe portion, andin thecase of a pronounced right or left form will come into bearing for aconsiderable distance along the outer or morecurvedside .of the toe, asindicated at 42. It will=also be. apparent that further pressure of thesupporting arm 10 toward the toe of the shoe will cause the links whichform a toggle to straighten andforce the segments 88, eOapart, therebycausing them to fit more closely against the rib along the.

sides ofthe toe. To prevent excessive strain upon, the links due to thedownward pressure brought to bear upon the hold-down lies the linksanddistributes the pressure over the greater part of their length. More.

As represented inFig. 4:, the

v plate, the flange 2a is provided which over firmly against the flange24, the parts 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32 will act as a single member formingan evener or equalizing device between the parts 38, 40 of the hold-downplate to cause the plates to be moved equally and oppositelylongitudinally of the shoe, and such operation of the device is to beunderstood as within the present invention.

In order to adapt the hold-down for use upon lasts of varying spring,the finger 10 is pivoted as described upon the bearing 8 and in orderthat both the teeth 14 on the finger 10 and the hold-down plate may bebrought with considerable pressure upon the bottom of lasts havingvarying lengthwise inclination of the forepart, means is providedbetween the finger 10 and the carrier 6 for preventing rotation of thearm in a direction to carry the plates 38, 40 away from the shoe. Asshown, ratchet teeth 44 are provided on the rear face of the finger 10and a cooperating spring pawl 46 is mounted in the carrier 6 and acts tohold the arm 10 in depressed relation against the last bottom. A thumbpin 48 is provided on the catch 46 by which it may be released when itis desired to move the finger 10 in a clock wise direction. In Fig. 6 isshown the above described ratchet mechanism as applied for controllingthe angular position of a holddown finger of a simple type analogous tothe spring finger now in common use.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A hold-down foot comprisinga clamping member to engage the shoe over the ball of the last, and aforwardly extending finger having a toe plate pivoted thereto near thecenter of curvature of the toe for lateral positioning movement, saidplate comprising members which are also angularly movable relatively tofit diiferently shaped toes.

2. A hold-down foot comprising a clamping member to engage the shoe overthe ball of the last, and a forwardly extending finger having a toeplate pivoted thereto near the center of curvature of the toe forlateral positioning movement 'to fit differently shaped toes andcomprising side members 38, 40 spaced apart and each separately pivotedfor relative positioning movement.

8. A hold-down foot having a toe plate comprising lateral membersconnected by a toggle arranged to cause forward pressure applied throughthe toggle to force the said lateral members outwardly as wellasforwardly.

4. A hold-down foot having a toe plate comprising lateral membersmounted to turn about a common center located between said members andeach about a separate center.

5. A hold-down foot having a toe plate comprising lateral membersmounted to turn about a common center near the center of curvature ofthe shoe toe and each about a separate pivot, said separate pivots beingmovable laterally toward and from the median line of the shoe.

6. A hold-down plate comprising laterally separated parts mounted forrelative movement longitudinally of a shoe and for pivotal movement inthe plane of the shoe bottom to enable the plate automatically to fitagainst the innersole rib of varying shapes of shoes.

7. A hold-down plate for lasting machines comprising separate partsadapted respectively to fit against the rib on opposite sides of the toeportion of a shoe, and supporting and operating devices for said platewhereby the parts of the plate will be caused to separate when the plateis forced against the rib at the toe.

8. A hold-down for lasting machines having, in combination, a hold-downplate, and supporting and operating means therefor, said hold-down platecomprising separate portions mounted for movement independently of eachother longitudinally and laterally of a shoe.

9. A hold-down for lasting machines comprising a longitudinally dividedhold-down plate, supporting and operating means therefor, connectionsbetween the support and the plate permitting reversal of the plate endfor end in its own plane, and further connections permitting limitedmovement of the lateral halves of said plate in the same plane.

10. A hold-down plate comprising parts adapted respectively to fitagainst the rib on opposite sides of the toe portion of a shoe, and adevice whereby one of said parts is moved equally and oppositely to theother longitudinally of the shoe to adapt the member to variously shapedtoes.

11. A hold-down plate comprising laterally separated parts having thegeneral outline on their outer edges of a shoe toe, said parts beingmounted for relative movement longitudinally and laterally of the shoeto enable the said member to fit against the innersole rib along theouter side of both right and left shoes.

12. A device of the class described, having, in combination, a carrier,a hold-down foot having at one end a portion rigidly.

supported on said carrier for engagement with the ball portion of a shoeinnersole to clamp the shoe against the toe rest and a forwardlyextending portion, an evener pivoted to said forwardly extending portionfor universal movement, and plates pivoted to said evener for movementin a horizontal plane, said plates being segmental in outline with oneend of greater curvature than the other and being reversible end for endto present either end toward the toe of a shoe.

13.--A device of thec1ass described having,--ine01nbina-ti0n, a carrier,a foot on the carrier, an evener 0n the I foot extending transverselyofthe shoe, and platesmolmted 0n the ends of the evenerfor freemovementina horizontal plane and adapted to fitaga-inst the rib oi the .innersoleion= 0ppo,- site sides A of the shoe toe;

In testimonywhereof I have signed my namet -th1syspecificationin thepresence of 10 two-subscribing-W1tnesses.

HARRY M. HART.

Witnesses HERBERT L. CANN, JESSE SAFT.

Copiesofyihisipatent may: be obta'ined for-five. .cents each, byaddressingjchee Commissibner of Patents,

WHShiHgjZOHflDCG-Y.

